Food Shopping (with kids in tow)

[SobaAddict70]

In an aside on Heather's (hjshorter) foodblog, the question was raised as to what posters' experiences were like with respect to food shopping for their families, especially when they bring their children along.

Are most of your purchases planned in advance, or are there a lot of (proportionally speaking) impulse purchases? Do you make use of frequent specials at the supermarket, and do you use coupons? How often do you go food shopping -- once a week? More than once a week? When you have shopping trips, do you plan your menus while there or beforehand -- do you tailor your shopping or vice versa? How often do you send your kids to the store to do your shopping for you? Do you teach your children how to shop effectively -- in particular fruits, vegetables and fish? (For that matter, are they inquisitive?)

I'm sure this thread has been done before, so pls merge it if so. This thread is specifically directed towards posters who have children.

Discuss...

Soba

[lamb]

Shopping with little kids=hurried shopping.

When my kids were toddlers, I would just hate it when the weekend rolled around and my hubby, for one reason or another, couldn't mind the kids while I did my food shopping. Although my list was already planned, long checkout lines spelled doom for already figdety kids. Open a box of Cheerios, and good for a few minutes, until you would approach the kid-eye-level candy racks. Yikes!

Now that they are older, my teenage daughter actually enjoys food shopping with me on my weekly visits. She likes to pick out the veggies and fruit. She loves the seafood counter and will ask the counterperson all kinds of cooking questions. She will also cut out coupons for items that SHE likes.

She especially enjoys it when we go to Wegmans.

My teenage son doesn't enjoy the shopping, but he sure enjoys the food!

[Varmint]

Gee, you're taking my idea for one of my Daily Gullet pieces!

Seriously, I remember when we had but one L'il Varmint, and how I resisted taking him to the grocery store. He just made it more difficult than it needed to be. When we had 2 children, I claimed it was near impossible to take them both. I did it anyway. With 3, you've got to be kidding me. Impossible. Still, there I'd go, with the 3 of them in tow. Now with 4 kids, there will be peace in the Middle East and cats and dogs will play together before I take all 4 to the grocery store. Wrong again -- I do it all the time, and I actually enjoy it.

Taking all 4 actually makes it easier for me to say "No" to any specific (and unreasonable) demands. I let the kids negotiate those impulse purchases, and let me tell you, it's not always the 9 and 8 year old who wins! Plus, if one of them wants something nasty, 3 others might very well join me in telling the L'il Varmint that it is indeed a nasty choice and that we need to find something that's better for everyone.

I put our 2 (almost 3!) year old in the cart seat. The 3 others stand dangerously on the under-cart rack -- as if this is any more dangerous than anything at the local playground!!! When we need something off the shelf, we take turns getting it -- unless it's incredibly light and at my waist level -- that's for the L'il-est Varmint to get.

Going through the check out is usually easy, too, but sometimes, the candy and books and lighters and razors are too much for them to keep their hands off. I let 'em get a slim jim instead -- you need to broaden their palates with spicy, fat-laden meat sticks, right? Plus, slim jim's are from North Cackalacky!

[hjshorter]

We think of things we want to cook, then I make my list with that in mind. Of course if I get to the store and see something that looks particularly fresh or tasty then the list goes out the window. The kids will eat almost anything, so we just cook what we want. I cut out coupons sometimes, but most of the coupons are for processed stuff that we don't use.

Emma always participates in picking out the produce, and talks to the guys at the Whole Foods fish and meat counters. She picks out the olives too. I make sure that she smells the herbs and spices while we're cooking.

They both love Whole Foods because they put out samples. The other day both kids were eating Gruyere and some kind of goat cheese - my kids love stinky cheese. When we go to Asian markets they get a kick out of the live crabs and fish swimming in the tanks.

[Priscilla]

My child will be 12 in a couple weeks, and he's always gone grocery shopping. His very first outing, in fact, at a few days old, was to the Italian market for Parmigiano Reggiano. (He was born during my Marcella Hazan Years, and pre-cut plastic-wrapped Parmigiano from, say, Trader Joe's, was adamantly NOT an option.)

Shopping for ingredients is such a necessary component to cooking, and cooking being absolutely central to our life, even when it was just the Consort & me for lo those pre-parental years, that I never imagined for a second NOT taking my child along.

We buy fruit & veg from farmers at the farmer's market who have seen him grow from infancy to as tall as me. I can trust him to pick out perfection in tomatoes, say, and he is the Watermelon Authority Par Excellence.

In the regular supermarket he will check to see which of the handful of boxed cereals he is permitted is on sale, and I can send him back from the checkout line, as happened the other day, for the bottle of Canola I forgot -- with no fear that he is going to get the wrong item. (I'm a big fusspot; surprising, IknowIknowIknow, but true.)

There are ill-behaved children just about everywhere one goes. Ill-behaved adults, too, I hasten to emphasize.

[torakris]

shopping with children....................

I try to do the bulk of the shopping on Sunday mornings because this is when the best sales are and also when my husband is home. About 2 yeasr ago he suggested once "why don't we all go?" we being my husband and I and our 3 kids who at the time were all 5 and under, he has never asked again!

Grocery shopping in Japan with children is not fun, first off the stores are tiny, the aisles are so narrow an American sized shopping cart would be knocking things off the sheves on both sides. Also most stores don't have carts that children can sit in. so it means your toddler is walking or else you are trying to maneuver a stroller while holding a basket. Most of the stores are also bag your own groceries which gives the toddler time to do something teribbly embarassing/dangerous/ just downright annoying while mommy is busy bagging the food.

I try to shop with a list and be in and out of the store as soon as possible, I also shop while the 2 older ones are at school, so I only have to deal with the soon to be 3 year old boy. I have a food delivery service that comes every Tuesday which is a lifesaver, but I still end up at te store at least 2 times a week with at least one child in tow.

There are times when shopping with all 3 of them is actually fun, usually on Saturdays I take all three of them (my husband is only off on Sunday) to a nearby store that is one of those large supermarkets combined with discount shop that even has a game center/play area and a food court. We make a couple hours of this and it is actually quite fun, however this is not the store to go to when you are in a hurry because you will never get out in less then 2 hours!

[Marlene]

Shopping with children = shopping for groceries online instead!

[Ladybug]

In an aside on Heather's (hjshorter) foodblog, the question was raised as to what posters' experiences were like with respect to food shopping for their families, especially when they bring their children along.

Are most of your purchases planned in advance, or are there a lot of (proportionally speaking) impulse purchases?  Do you make use of frequent specials at the supermarket, and do you use coupons?  How often do you go food shopping -- once a week?  More than once a week?  When you have shopping trips, do you plan your menus while there or beforehand -- do you tailor your shopping or vice versa?  How often do you send your kids to the store to do your shopping for you?  Do you teach your children how to shop effectively -- in particular fruits, vegetables and fish?  (For that matter, are they inquisitive?)

I'm sure this thread has been done before, so pls merge it if so.  This thread is specifically directed towards posters who have children.

Discuss...

Soba

I shop for the bulk of my groceries every two weeks and generally have to make small trips a few times in between for milk, etc. I always take all three kids and they are generally decently well-behaved. The most difficult part of it is keeping my 20-month old entertained. I almost always end up opening a box of Goldfish in the store and letting her eat some. The older kids usually nibble some too. I always feel as if I should be looking over my shoulder when I do this, but I see other moms do it all the time too - it's like eating on credit. I am very careful to never let them eat produce, which is sold by weight, because that would be stealing! Sometimes the cashier will hold up the obviously lighter bag, wave it around and give me the hairy eyeball, but I've never had anyone raise a real stink about it.

I do use coupons, but not so many because, as hjshorter noted, most of the coupons are for products we don't buy. If something is on special, I may buy it even if it's not on my list. For instance, pineapples are usually about 4 bucks each - but recently I saw them for 2 bucks, so I bought one. It was devoured so quickly, I went back to the store and bought another one.

I compile a grocery list a day or two before we go shopping. I always make a few impulse buys. If I go shopping when I'm hungry, the impulse buys get out of control, so I try to make sure we've all eaten right before we go.

My kids know that they can each pick ONE thing from the store, and it must be a small thing. I also veto garbage like Easy Cheese (which they are DYING to try). After they choose their one item, they aren't allowed to ask for anything else.

I don't plan my menus more than a day or two in advance. My basic dinner strategy is to look in the fridge and use up whatever will go bad first. Today, that's asparagus. Yesterday, it was green beans. I always have a few things in mind that I feel like eating and that influences my grocery list.

I never send my kids to the store for me because the eldest is only 8 - and I rarely send my husband to the store because he generally comes back with the wrong thing. When he does pick up a few things for me, I write a very detailed list, including where to find the item in the store.

I do teach my children how to pick produce or meat, etc. We're all picking up peaches or tomatoes and smelling them in the store. It's very cute to hear them say, "Well, THIS sure doesn't smell like a peach!" I also teach them about coupons and checking for the lowest price. Right now, I'm having lots of conversations with my coupon-clipping five-year-old like, "Yes, that is a nice coupon, but we don't BUY cheese dogs, so we don't need that coupon."

[lamb]

Shopping with children = shopping for groceries online instead!

Marlene,

Don't know of any stores here in NJ that offer online shopping. I think "Peapod" used to offer it, but I believe that they are no longer around.

I don't think that concept every truly caught on here. People still want to be able to pick out their own produce and such, and I think there was a problem with receiving wrong items in your orders.

Not a bad concept, however, versus towing little ones through a supermarket!

[SethG]

Such good planners! I am not in your league.

I shop with my 19-month-old daughter only when I have to, and then we usually perform what I think of as a "surgical strike" on the grocery store. We get in, grab a couple things, and get out. Express line a must.

My dinner plans are usually made in the late afternoon, and I end up having to buy stuff on the run from my job to my Leah's day care.

Even when I was home on leave for 8 months with Leah, I did much the same thing. We'd make a ten minute run to the grocery store almost every afternoon.

Coupons? What are these "coupons" of which you speak?

[marie-louise]

No kids, but a question: Do many supermarkets have those minature carts for kids to shop along w/ their parents? A few store in the Bay Area (Berkeley Whole Foods, Greenbrae Molly Stone's) have them.

[lamb]

No kids, but a question: Do many supermarkets have those minature carts for kids to shop along w/ their parents? A few store in the Bay Area (Berkeley Whole Foods, Greenbrae Molly Stone's) have them.

I can't imagine *why* a supermarket would event think of doing that

It's enough trouble to have to navigate in a grocery store among adult shopping cart "drivers". Just add little ones pushing carts through a store and that would really piss me off. Our stores in Central/South NJ don't offer that option. Thank God.

[ronnie_suburban]

No kids, but a question: Do many supermarkets have those minature carts for kids to shop along w/ their parents? A few store in the Bay Area (Berkeley Whole Foods, Greenbrae Molly Stone's) have them.

Yeah...I live in the northern 'burbs of Chicago and all the stores around here have them. Some are even flagged with litle signs that say "Shopper in Training." I'm just glad my son (6) has outgrown them...and also outgrown the crying that occurred when they were all already in use when we got to the store. Now, he wants to push the big cart and fill it up with crap. That's okay, he's relatively good at the store, and since we just have 1, there isn't a lot of wrangling.

That said, we only take him (grocery) shopping when there is no alternative. First choice is to do it when he's not around. Not because he's a pain, but because it's just a boring thing for him to be subjected to if it can be avoided.

=R=

Edited September 18, 2003 by ronnie_suburban (log)

[torakris]

No kids, but a question: Do many supermarkets have those minature carts for kids to shop along w/ their parents? A few store in the Bay Area (Berkeley Whole Foods, Greenbrae Molly Stone's) have them.

A lot of drugstores in my neighborhood have these. Both kid sized carts and kid sized baskets, I don't mind them in the drugstores but I would not want them in a supermarket, for some kids that is just a nightmare waiting to happen. It took a while for my 2 year old to realize that carrying his own basket did NOT mean he was free to roam the store filling it up with things he wanted.

A couple larger supermarkets near me have taken those Little Tykes cars (those orange and yellow things that seat one child and are about 3 to 4 feet high) and converted them into shopping carts. Normally they are pushed along by the kids feet but they put a floor on them so the kids feet don't get in the way and they attatched a rack and handle on the back. You place the basket in the rack and then push it through the store, these are a lot of fun but it can be a nightmare when they are all being used.

One store even has hello kitty ones and ones that look like a police car.

[torakris]

here is a picture of one of the carts:

http://www.carrefour.co.jp/What_s_cf/Frame6_2.html

[guajolote]

I guess I'm in the minority here, but I love to go shopping with my kids. They seem to love it too. My daughter is especially good at the Farmer's Market, last week she got all of this free: an apple, small bag of rasberries, a gladiolus, and three pieces of French bread.

[jess mebane]

The Bowery Boys are at turns great and gross at the grocery store, but when the house is down to the last roll of TP, cup of dog food and 1/2 gal. of milk, off we go. I use coupons. We are sample whores; hell, we're not too proud to start divvying up the baguette right then and there. Oldest boy is bribed at the outset: acceptable behavior= one Matchbox/sticker sheet/ride on the grocery pony. He has great intentions, but that doesn't keep the occasional wine display from skittering across the meat dept. when I make the mistake of falling into a trance in front of the finer cheeses. I try to give him a small choice or two, and then make for the checkout when #2 son's patience has run out.

In short, sometimes we're "All mops to cleanup on aisle 6," and other times we're the racecar behind you, cackling like Burt Reynolds before his face went wonky.

As much as I dread it sometimes, I expect I'll miss it in about 10 yrs.

[torakris]

falling into trances when you are in the company of small children can be very dangerous!

This happened to me yesterday, I was mesmerized by the reduced for quick sale bin and in the 10 seconds I took my eyes off my two year old he had dismantled the copier we were standing next to..............

[tejon]

I usually do grocery shopping once a week, sans children. My oldest is mildly autistic, so going to the store can be difficult on the best of days. If he's doing really well, I do occasionally take him along for a quick Trader Joe's run - he loves the tasting area

[ronnie_suburban]

I guess I'm in the minority here, but I love to go shopping with my kids. They seem to love it too. My daughter is especially good at the Farmer's Market, last week she got all of this free: an apple, small bag of rasberries, a gladiolus, and three pieces of French bread.

No, I do enjoy it but only if the boyo's in the mood for it too...and when he's not, it's just not a pleasant or efficient experience. He does love the farmers' market and Costco, so those are the 2 places we usually take him. But, other than those 2 spots, we'll try to do the food shopping without him.

=R=

[foodie52]

From another perspective...

I work in a grocery store, albeit an upscale one. I love seeing the kids come in with their parents. We have one guy who has been the househusband for years. He comes in once a week or so with his twins. It's so much fun seeing them grow up! They first starting shopping when they were 3 months or so old: now they are 4 years old....

I always peer into the strollers or carts or baby seats in the carriages and spend some time cooing at the little ones. The moms seem to enjoy it: they visibly relax when they see that I'm enjoying their children.

Kids should shop...they learn about having to make choices...about disappointment when they can't have yet another bag of Goldfish...it's such a socialization process and so integral to our society.

Bring your kids!

[ronnie_suburban]

Bring your kids!

Thanks Foodie for sharing your totally refreshing perspective.

=R=

[hjshorter]

I guess I'm in the minority here, but I love to go shopping with my kids. They seem to love it too. My daughter is especially good at the Farmer's Market, last week she got all of this free: an apple, small bag of rasberries, a gladiolus, and three pieces of French bread.

It isn't that the kids aren't well behaved (although that does happen) but that it's much less of a major operation if I can go alone. It's less of a hassle if I take one or the other.

Now, the farmer's market is another story. We always take the kids.

Edited September 20, 2003 by hjshorter (log)

[hjshorter]

From another perspective...

I work in a grocery store, albeit an upscale one. I love seeing the kids come in with their parents.

Foodie52, we will definitely stop and say hi the next time we're in Austin. Emma LOVES Central Market - and so do we.

[snowangel]

Did you know that a loaf of wonder bread, plucked from the shelf by a 2 year old can be squashed into a ball the size of a tennis ball before the mother even notices that said child has snacked said loaf of bread?

I go alone, or they all die. I just hate discipline in the grocery store. Yes, I'm a wimp. Now that I'm no longer gainfully employed outside the home, it's me, by myself, on Tuesday mornings. It's very civilized.